


White Night

by HansoldMySoul



Category: UP10TION
Genre: Based off the White night mv, Basically 8 thousand words of unbetad angst, But that didn't quite work out, Enjoy!, F/M, M/M, This was supposed to be a drabble, Woohee - Freeform, Woonhee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-09-01 21:19:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8638486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HansoldMySoul/pseuds/HansoldMySoul
Summary: Wooseok needs someone to blame and Hwanhee never fights back. [Minsoo, Wooseok and Hwanhee were inseparable until an accident tore them apart and it starts to looks as though those bonds can never be fixed][Woohee, Wooshin/Hwanhee, Angst,  Based off the White Night MV]





	

It happened so fast.

Hockey practice was always rough but that came with the job description when you signed up to play contact sports. Hwanhee had no malicious intent when he'd checked Minsoo into the boards, too busy with the single-minded goal of passing the puck to Changhyun to complete the play. It was only when the elder boy fell, his helmet meeting the ice with a sickening crack that everything seemed to spin out of control. It was as if time stopped for several moments, the silence amplified in the large dome. 

Nobody moved, tense as they waited for Minsoo to pull himself up and quell their fears but when several seconds passed and he remained still, Wooseok was the first of many to fall beside him, pushing his helmet from his head to reveal closed eyes and pallid skin, unresponsive and far too still. An ear pressed to his chest confirmed what they already knew but it didn't make the truth any harder to swallow and from where he hung back behind the others, Hwanhee watched unblinking, unwilling to accept a reality in which, at eighteen years of age, he'd just killed his best friend. Wooseok's eyes flickered to Hwanhee's prone form for just a second but that was all the younger boy needed to see the anger and resentment burning in them. The clear betrayal of his others closest friend made the blow of the situation all the harder.

His hands, balled into fists around the offending hockey stick, we're shaking so badly that he would have questioned how his grip didn't falter if he'd been in the correct state of mind to do so but the trivial thought didn't even cross Hwanhee's mind as his vision blurred out of focus and his breathing sped up. It suddenly felt as though there was no-one else in the room and yet he was trapped in a crowd of people at the same time and the acute claustrophobia of the situation ignited an unfamiliar sensation of panic within him.

Unable to deal with the crushing weight of the situation that bore down on him with such intensity, Hwanhee followed the only coherent thought that crossed his mind.

Run. 

And he did, dropping the hocky stick and fleeing the rink without so much as a glance over his shoulder, only briefly registering the sound of Jinwook talking to someone on the phone in a clear authorative voice before he was out of earshot. 

In the locker room, he pulled into himself on the bench and listened to the amplified sound of his own heart beating, too fast to be normal but paced with the rapid puffs of hair as he tried his hardest to stay conscious but lacked an anchor to hold him there.

"You bastard!" A voice growled from the entrance to the room but Hwanhee's vision was still too blurry to make out who it was, the shapes and colours all blurring together to form one, indiscernible blob of confusion. He didn't even look up, certain through the haze of panic that whoever had spoken wouldn't stop at cutting words and playground insults and he was proven correct when Wooseok wasted no time in launching himself forward and seizing Hwanhee's collar tight another to significantly limit his air flow. 

That would have made a difference if Hwanhee wasn't already struggling to pull in enough air to stay conscious but the deafening roar in his ears did nothing to block out the words being thrown at him like blades, each sharper than the last and aimed with better precision.

"You filthy murderer! You killed him! Minsoo did nothing to you and yet you killed him in cold blood!"

And worst of all, 

"It should have been you! You should be the one lying cold on the ice right now."

The worst because the words echoed almost every thought that had run through his head since the event and there was no use in denying them because the clearest thought Hwanhee had since almost breaking down was, 'It should have been me.' 

In front of him, Wooseok was also breathing heavily, tears marring his cheeks even as he tightened his grip on Hwanhee's collar and swung his fist at the younger boys face.

'At the very least, I deserve this.'

The truth in the thought hurt more than the laceration on his face and even as Sooil pulled Wooseok away and restrained him, Hwanhee wondered how everything had managed to spin so windy out of control in so little time.

That night, he stayed in the locker room, curled into a ball in the corner even after the others left. It was easy to ignore Dongyeol's intense glare and the way Jinwook and Sooil tried to speak to him because the thoughts rushing through his head blocked everything else out in an intense and dizzying flurry of sound. It wasn't long before they him alone, some from lack of caring and some in acquiesce of his silent wishes.

Wooseok's words played over and over in his head, a scornful mantra that kept him rooted to the spot until long after the sun had gone down but it was the sickening memory of what had taken place on the rink just hours earlier that eventually chased him out, like demons that would haunt him forever.

When he returned home that night, brushing off his mother's worried hovering and his father's stern questions, Hwanhee locked himself in his room and cried.

It wouldn't be the last time.

•

The person with more cause to be devastated than himself or even Wooseok, was Somi in Hwanhee's opinion. She'd been quiet and reserved ever since Jinwook had broken the news about Minsoo and through his own veil of misery, it easy to see that the younger girl wasn't coping as well as she would have liked them to believe.

That's how he ended up sitting in a coffee shop on a Saturday afternoon with nothing better to do than to watch over her and make sure she was okay. In Hwanhee's mind, watching over Somi was the only way he could partially say he was sorry for the things that had happened to Minsoo, it had after all, been his fault. A fact that Wooseok's never once let him forget.

The younger girl had been sitting a few tables away, playing a game of jenga against an invisible partner. She looked relaxed and free of troubles, something Hwanhee found himself immensely grateful for and he was content to watch from a distance to make sure nobody disturbed her. It was only when the tower toppled and her face fell into a resigned pout that Hwanhee felt any inclination to move towards her but he was beaten to it by Wooseok, who promptly appeared from round the corner with a soft smile on his face that was only for Somi. 

A glance in his direction told Hwanhee that he wasn't needed nor wanted there anymore so he waited for Wooseok to pull Somi from the room with a little more force than was probably necessary before grabbing his helmet and exiting a safe distance behind him. 

Whether he liked it or not, Hwanhee knew that Somi was safe with Wooseok's because he'd seen the way the older boy looked at her so he left, his job for the day done but his heart no lighter for it. 

•

Wooseok was angry, not about any one thing in particular but rather it was an overwhelming mix of emotion brought on by everything that had occurred in such a short space of time. Once he would have referred to Minsoo as his best friend and at any other given time he would have called Hwanhee by the same title but it was easy to push such thoughts to the back of his mind when faced with the bubbling anger that resurfaced whenever he was forced to look at the usually loud and energetic teenager. From the moment the truth about Minsoo had dawned on him, knees down on the ice but too numb to care, Wooseok knew that he needed someone to blame and Hwanhee made it only too easy by hanging back, by looking abundantly guilty and by running away before he was given the chance to explain. 

At that time, bursting into the locker room, Wooseok had allowed himself to act on impulse and think about the consequences later because if he didn't release some on the pent up tension then he was liable to do something that he'd regret in the future.

Not that he didn't regret punching Hwanhee in the face. Au contraire, he'd begun to regret his decision when he realised that the younger was wasn't even trying to fight back but rather allowing himself to be manhandled and screamed at while he shook and stared into the distance with a vacant look in his eyes. Maybe that was what had convinced Wooseok to let go because as much as he was angry, he could recognise a panic attack when he saw one and behind all the anger, regret managed to slither in and tell him that no-one was probably blaming Hwanhee for the events that had just taken place more than Hwanhee himself. 

Wooseok thought, that maybe if he gave himself some time then he'd be able to look passed the anger and betrayal and see how much Hwanhee was hurting but it didn't work that way. The day the teenager hadn't shown up for practice, they'd all brushed it off as him needing to grieve but with every passing absence Wooseok found himself beginning to resent Hwanhee two-fold before he decided he was glad that the younger was refusing to show his face.

The first time he saw Hwanhee again after the accident was almost three weeks later and the sight brought with it a startling conclusion that made Wooseok want to punch Hwanhee once again. He'd been visiting Somi, something he made sure to do regularly as the younger girl had been hit the hardest by Minsoo's death, when he'd spitted the teenager out of the corner of his eye. Unnoticed, he watched Hwanhee as he observed Somi with a soft smile on his face and that was when all the pieces finally slid into place to reveal an unsettling picture. 

Wooseok was mad at himself for not spotting it sooner, all the clues were there and he wondered how he could have been so blind as to not notice that Hwanhee liked Somi when he was so blatantly obvious about it. 

At the first given chance, Wooseok had dragged Somi from the building without so much as an explanation for their abrupt departure and the Hwanhee's downcast expression was enough to encourage that he'd done thebright thing. 

Wooseok couldn't do anything about Minsoo's death but he could honour their friendship by keeping the person who murdered him away from the girl who'd been the most important to him in life. 

For Wooseok, it became his way of saying sorry for not being able to do enough. 

•

Things went from bad to worse.

Hwanhee began to habitually miss practices to the point that his absence was no longer questioned among the other players and he was relieved when he stopped receiving worried texts from Jinwook, Sooil and Changhyun. It wasn't that the younger boy didn't appreciate their concern but every concerned message highlighted the absence of concern from the rest of the team. 

It was no secret that Dongyeol and Gyujin would rally with Wooseok, they were close friends after all and even though Dongyeol and himself had been close at one point, the youngest of their group had always looked up to Wooseok with a sort of hero worship. It hurt more when Yein and Sungjun turned their backs on him without so much as trying to hear his side of the story (not that hwanhee would have told them anyway, preferring to let them assume instead of trying to make himself into the victim.) 

The best course of action in his eyes, was to cut himself out completely and allow his friends to continue on without having to see the person who'd made them nine instead of ten. It was difficult to avoid them after having spent so much of the passed years in their company, it was a trivial job to work his own schedule around theirs so that they never had to cross paths.

It was harder to avoid Wooseok. 

As much as Hwanhee wanted to separate himself from the team, he couldn't bring himself to stop watching over Somi because doing so felt like letting go of the one string of redemption that he'd managed to futilly hold onto, like letting go of the last thing that connected him to Kogyeol and cutting that thread would be like losing the only sense of purpose that had kept him bound to sanity during the hardest point in his life. 

It became easier to watch her from a distance but even then he could tell that the younger girl was worried and confused about his sudden distance and it tore at his heart to be hurting the one person that he'd sworn to protect. Even without direct contact, Wooseok was always aware of his presence and he wasn't subtle about his animosity towards the younger which often led to Hwanhee stepped no further into the shadows and trying to remain hidden from prying eyes.

Wooseok never confronted him about his presence but only for the lack of contact. Hwanhee was sure that should he get close enough to Somi then the older boy wouldn't hesitate to resort to physical violence as a deterrent and it was that sobering thought that forced him to maintain the distance despite wanting desperately to reach out whenever the young girl cried over a memory that still haunted them all. 

It was only the constant reminder of what he'd done, communicated through Wooseok's hateful gaze that stopped him from running away completely. How easy it would have been to run as far as his legs would take him, to escape the demons that jeered at him unseen from the shadows because although the thought often escaped him, Hwanhee was still an eighteen year old boy who was dealing with immense amounts of stress and struggling under the weight of self-doubt and loathing that would be the end of a weaker person. 

So under a veil of crushing guilt, Hwanhee watched and waited for the time when he could hand over the final memento and as such, give away his last reason to stay. Reassuringly, the younger boy knew that Wooseok would take care of Somi with everything he had once Hwanhee was no longer around to take on the job. He knew this for sure because Wooseok had once afforded him the same protection, reaching out a hand when things became too much and offering a non-judgemental shelter when everything refused to fall into place no matter how hard he tried.

It was, Hwanhee decided, trying to pull himself through without Wooseok there as an anchor and a comforting hand that finally broke him and running away was the one small reprieve that he could offer himself before he completely collapsed under the combined weight of guilt and stress that already kept him up all night on a good day. 

•

It took weeks but Wooseok began to feel the absence of his other closest friend. When he wasn't fuming over Hwanhee's continuous attempts to be close to Somi, the older boy found himself wondering about the dark circles around his eyes and the way he always seemed to sag under some invisible weight that he'd given up holding out against.

No matter how hard he tried to scare the younger boy off, he was always there, whether it be in the shadows or waiting around a corner as though he were hoping that Wooseok wouldn't show as much as the older wished he would back off. So when Hwanhee didn't show up one day, Wooseok realised that he felt something other than a convoluted sense of victory at having finally won the silent battle of wills. 

Maybe it was concern... The younger had looked tired and unsteady when Wooseok watched him slide onto his motorcycle and kick off a few days prior and without prompt, worst case scenarios flashed through his head at lightning speed. 

As many times as he'd told the younger that he wished a fate similar to Minsoo's upon him, Wooseok hadn't meant a word of it because he knew full well how devasted he'd be if the younger boy actually ended up hurt even of he was unable to convey such feelings when they were together.

Actually, it had been Hwanhee who'd first extended a hand to Wooseok when he'd joined the hockey team. The older boy had been quiet and reclusive but Hwanhee hadn't taken no for and answer and Wooseok was forever grateful that he'd eventually accepted the invitation and allowed the warm smile and infectious laugh to guide him into a friendship like none that he'd experienced before.

However, those thoughts always managed to escape him when Hwanhee was around, replaced by the immediate resentment that not only had the younger boy been instrumental in Minsoo's death but now appeared to be pursuing his dead friend's girlfriend without a second thought.

Strangely, Wooseok found himself more tense when Hwanhee wasn't around despite not having to watch Somi as closely as he usually would, something that he chalked up to worrying about where exactly the younger boy was hiding and when he would appear out of the shadows to make his next move. 

A small part of him hoped that Hwanhee would show up the next day though and Wooseok brushed it to the back of his thoughts before he could over analyse it because he wasn't sure he'd like what he found.

•

There was just one thing Hwanhee wanted to do before he felt justified in leaving. He'd had Minsoo's helmet and the puck they'd won their very first game with stashed away since the accident and he knew that those things didn't really belong with him, knew that he shouldn't be sullying such precious items with the touch of a murderer but he had to pass them on to someone specific and that person was becoming harder and harder to reach as the days passed. Those items rightfully belonged to Somi but Hwanhee didn't trust Wooseok not to interrupt any attempted exchange between the two so he held for as long as he could.

It was the day before the anniversary of the accident that Hwanhee made up his mind.  
Wooseok would likely be even more on guard than usual but Changhyun had let it slip that he'd be meeting Somi at a specific time so that they could visit Minsoo's grave together and Hwanhee knew that intercepting the girl before their meeting was the only way he'd be able to pull of the plan without tipping off Wooseok too quickly.

It was easy, Somi looked taken aback when he'd pulled up beside her and asked her for a few moments of her time but Wooseok must have been unable to sway her opinion on him because she'd looked at him with the same bright smile as always and taken the offered helmet before climbing on behind him.

Their destination was inconspicuous, an abandoned lot that afforded Hwanhee the privacy to make the exchange before making a quick get away and although Somi had looked confused, her trust in him had been unerring as she's followed him without second thought.  
A small part of Hwanhee told him that he no more deserved her blind faith than he deserved to be free from the guilt of his own actions on that day a year ago but he ignored it in favour of fiddling with the puck in his pocket. It was harder to let go of it than it should of been but Hwanhee was safe in the knowledge that it would be in good hands and the became the driving force behind his decision.

"You look tired Hwanhee, have you been sleeping?" Somi asked, startling him from his thoughts. He'd forgotten that she was there momentarily and the question brought him back to reality once more. The younger girl looked genuinely worried, her eyebrows furrowed as she took in his appearance and decided that she didn't like what she saw. 

"I'm--" He trailed off hesitantly, unwilling to tell her that he felt as though he was falling deeper into despair with every passing day, "It's hard but I'll be okay." The excuse sounded weak even to his own ears but Somi seemed to realise that she was fighting a losing battle and dropped the subject.

"I miss him, you know." She stated and the admission made Hwanhee freeze, his hand clenched so tightly around the puck in his pocket that it cut into the sensitive flesh there. "But I'm glad that I wasn't alone... Wooseok was always only a breath away and although maybe you think I didn't notice, you were always there too, hiding in the shadows but still comforting me." She was smiling softly and Hwanhee wondered how she could possibly look at him fondly after knowing what he'd done.

"I can see the way you look at me, like you've commited some terribly crime and are expecting me to send you away at any moment but I'm not going to do that." She continued, watching him but making no effort to close the purposeful distance between them.

"I don't blame you. Nobody does... what happened to Minsoo-- that was an accident, a tragic accident but one that couldn't have been prevented any more than it could have been predicted." Hwanhee stepped back, not stopping until his shoulders met the cold, corrugated metal behind him. It wasn't the first time someone had exonerated him from fault, Jinwook, Changhyun and Sooil did it at every possible opportunity but it was different to hear the words from the one person who had the right to blame him the most.

"You should, I-I.. If I hadn't... t-then Minsoo would--" It became increasingly difficult to string the words together as Hwanhee's eyes stung and his throat felt tight from the threat of tears.  
Somi seemed to understand what he was trying today none the less and he reply was soft-spoken, if not with a note of irritation. "I know that you were one of Minsoo's closest friends... can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me that he would have blamed you for this? Can you?" 

Hwanhee had never taken the time to think it about it from that perspective before and it brought him to a pause. Would Minsoo have blamed him? The older boy had been one of the nicest people Hwanhee had ever met and it was difficult to imagine him scorning anyone, least of all, over something that had been so entirely out of their control. 

"I-- no... Minsoo wouldn't do that but I.. but Wooseok--" 

He could see the exact moment that Somi finally understood the root of the problem. More than feeling as though he'd committed some unforgivable sin, Hwanhee was plagued by the knowledge that he'd betrayed his best friend in a manner that had severed any ties the two had once shared. As much as Hwanhee was grieving for Minsoo, he lived in constant fear that he'd damaged his friendship with Wooseok irreparably and that's what ultimately caused his harrowing self-doubt. 

"As much as he might like to believe otherwise, Wooseok is more angry with himself than he could ever be with you. If only you could see the worry in his expression whenever he spots you looking like you haven't slept in weeks or the way he never looks away while you leave after you think he's gone. Wooseok doesn't blame you but he doesn't know where else to place the blame so he let's anger lead whenever you're together." Somi's voice was firm and he may have imagined it but Hwanhee could have sworn that she sounded slightly amused. 

It was the most unbelievable thing he'd heard all year, if there was one thing that Hwanhee knew for sure, It was that Wooseok blamed him whole-heartedly for Minsoo's death. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that older would like nothing more than to never see him again and that was something that he'd long since come to terms with.

"Wooseok hates me, he's made that abundantly clear and I have no intention of trying to argue my case to him. I'm willing to accept my wrong doings in exchange for his piece of mind if that's what it takes because I took away something that was precious to him and there's no way I can ever apologize for that." Hwanhee's tone was firm, leaving now room for argument and Somi looked away to prevent herself from making a comment about the tears that were silently sliding down his cheeks unbidden. 

"Why did you bring me here Hwanhee?" She asked suddenly, as though she'd only just remembered that they were several miles away from the city without being told an express reason for the journey. Hwanhee looked relieved at the abrupt change of topic and he hastily wiped at the tears that had fallen without his consent during their exchange.

"I'm-- I have to give you--" He was cut off when a shadow rounded the corner, dark hair plastered to his forehead and rage burning in his eyes unlike any Hwanhee had ever seen before. His time was up, Wooseok was here and he'd wasted his last chance to pass on the items in his care. The puck clattered to floor noisily as Wooseok threw the small bouquet of flowers he'd been holding and Hwanhee lifted his arms in a futile attempt to protect himself from what he knew was coming.

"Wooseok don't--" Somi's plea went unheard as the older boy launched himself at Hwanhee, not stopping to wait for explanation before ramming his fist into the younger boys face. The force of the hit knocked Hwanhee to the floor and Wooseok paused for a moment as the younger boys head came into contact with the concrete in a sickeningly familiar picture before his eyes flickered open once more. 

The similarities only served to infuriate Wooseok more and he wasted no time in dropping to the ground above Hwanhee and hitting him again, gaining a slither of satisfaction at the way the smaller boy groaned as blood begun to trickle from a cut on his temple.

Hwanhee didn't fight back. 

The beating was only a fraction of what he deserved and Wooseok had every right to be angry. Through the overwhelming pain in his head, Hwanhee thought that it looked as though Wooseok was crying but his own vision was blurred too badly to tell and he was aware that he was bleeding from a cut on the right side of his face but it no longer seemed to matter because he was getting what he deserved.

Maybe Wooseok was about to hit him again but as Hwanhee waited, instead of feeling the impact of a third hit, the weight on top of him suddenly shifted before vanishing all together. It was difficult to see through the pain but Hwanhee thought he could see Somi pulling Wooseok several feet away from him and the older didn't resist for fear of hurting the girl.

Hwanhee could hear arguing but it was near impossible to discern what they were saying so he let it become back ground noise until he heard something hit the metal walls with enough force to produce a reverberating sound. Closer inspection revealed that Wooseok was sitting against it with his knees pulled up to his chest while Somi waved a small, orange object in his face and shouted.

It was all a little fuzzy after that but when Hwanhee came too, he was alone and the puck and helmet were gone. Things may not have gone exactly to plan but he felt a sense of accomplishment in achieving what he'd come out to do and all that was left to do was leave. 

Wooseok would get his wish, he wouldn't have to see Hwanhee again because the younger had already formalised his resignation from the hockey team and he'd been moving to America the following day. It would be hard to say goodbye but the thought of finally be able to leave all the guilt behind pulled him through. 

By the time the sun had risen, Hwanhee felt as though he could stand without walking and although it probably wasn't the best idea, his motorcycle was the only way he could make it home in a timely fashion and with the roads relatively clear, he was sure he could make it home without incident.

•

It took Wooseok precisely twenty minutes to figure out what was going on when Somi didn't show up for their scheduled meeting. 

It was too much to hope that Hwanhee's recent absence meant that he'd finally given up and pulled back, when the girl didn't show he knew that she'd been intercepted by the younger male and that there was one of two places that she was likely to be now. 

His first guess was the rink, it seemed like a plausible idea but the place appeared to be empty of everyone but Dongyeol and Sungjun who were skating practice drills in preparation for next weeks game when Wooseok arrived. 

The second place was somewhere that Wooseok didn't particularly want to visit. The abandoned lot was where he, Hwanhee and Minsoo had spent a lot of their free time and he'd refused to go back since the accident but he couldn't say the same for Hwanhee. In fact, for the amount he'd been missing and absent, it was likely that the younger boy had ended up there on more than one occasion.

On the way to the lot in the pouring rain, Wooseok found himself bemoaning the fact that Hwanhee just couldn't stay away and make everything easier. If the younger boy had rightly kept his distance instead of infringing on something that was never his to take then maybe Wooseok would have been able to forgive him but now he'd taken it a step too far and Wooseok was done with the passive-aggressive stance he'd been taking up until that point. 

Hwanhee had been given enough chances and now it was time to set things straight once and for all.

It was dark by the time Wooseok reached his destination but the low light did nothing to impair his view of the younger boy reaching out towards Somi with something clenched tightly between his fingers as though he wasn't quite prepared to let it go. 

From that point on, he stopped thinking and let his fists do the talking which was something he would later come to regret but it worked just fine for the minute. 

By the time he'd convinced Somi to leave with him, the younger boy appeared to be unconscious but Wooseok didn't allow himself to feel any sympathy for his plight because look where that had got him up until that point.

•

"He only wanted to say sorry," an angry voice stated, throwing something down on the table in front of him where he'd been sitting nursing a lukewarm cup on coffee. The orange puck mark with the words 'Somi ♡ Kogyeol' came to a stop just centimeters from his hand and Wooseok stared at it in shock, not sure how to react. Somi didn't give him time to speak, continuing to lecture in am increasingly angry tone. 

"Hwanhee thinks he killed Minsoo and you, Kim Wooseok are eighty percent of the reason! He came to me last night to apologize for killing my boyfriend and when I tried to tell him how wrong he was, he mentioned you while trying to explain his part in it. Can you even imagine what it would be like to see your friend die in front of you and then have your other friend immediately turn their back on you? Of course you can't Wooseok, because you were too busy placing the blame on your eighteen year old best friend instead of having to think about those things!" Somi was shouting at this point and Wooseok could do nothing but stare in shock and try to comprehend everything she was saying.

"All he wanted to do was say sorry and give me that!" She exclaimed, pointing at the puck as though it were the sole reason for her anger and Wooseok followed her finger, staring once again at the orange plastic as though it would some how give him all the answers he'd been looking for.

"And now he's gone." Somi finished, glaring at him with the intention of making him feel every bit as bad he should have felt about the situation. It was those final words that finally got through to Wooseok, his head snapping up, eyes wide with shock. 

"Gone? Gone where?!" He demanded, suddenly more than a little worried for the younger boy. He'd intentionally left him unconscious the night before but a small part of him knew that Hwanhee's bike was parked outside and he'd be able to make his own way home when he eventually woke. It was that small reassurance that had allowed Wooseok the piece of mind to be able to walk away without a second look. 

Somi's deliberately vague wording had put him more than a little on edge about the boys safety and she surely knew it if the small smirk on her face was anything to go by. 

"Well... " She pulled back her sleeve and looked at her watch in thought before continuing. "His plane should have left almost an hour ago if I'm correct." She didn't directly answer the question outright but Wooseok let out a sigh of relief as soon as he realised that Hwanhee wasn't in any danger which he quickly followed up with a glare to show that he didn't appreciate being played.

"A plane to where exactly?" He asked, tone clipped and acerbic but the underlying curiosity seeped into his tone despite him trying to conceal it. 

"America. His family thought he needed a fresh start after the trauma... Wooseok-- by the way he said it... I don't think that Hwanhee is coming back." Despite the vindictive way she'd been speaking all morning, Somi's tone was softer and halting as she broke the news to the older boy. Wooseok wasn't sure that he'd heard correctly but the words continued to ring in his ears.

"Just like that?" He managed to ask, almost whispering as though he could make it untrue if he said it quietly enough but Somi nodded, crushing that hope immediately.

"He waited for Minsoo's death anniversary so that he could give me that without regrets. He didn't want to feel like he was running away when he was the one at fault and he didn't believe that he deserved forgiveness which is why he never fought back. He's only eighteen years old and yet I think Hwanhee truly believed that he had nothing left to live for." It was difficult for Wooseok to bear but he knew that he deserved after the way he'd treated the person who was supposed to be his best friend for far longer than he himself would have held out under such treatment.

"When I was supposed to be there as his best friend, I turned my back on him... and not only did I leave him to believe those things but I also turned Dongyeol, Yein, Sungjun and Gyujin against him so that I could feel like I was justified in the way I acted...." The full scale of what he'd done over the past year hit him all at once and Wooseok wondered how Hwanhee had managed to keep fighting back even a little.

"I hurt him more than Minsoo's death ever could have. By trying to justify my own actions, I hurt the one person who I should have been watching over the most."

Somi smiled wryly. "It's too bad that it took his leaving for you to realise that. If you ever get the chance, you better beg his forgiveness... And the sad thing is... He'd probably give it to you without a second thought because wherever he is now, Hwanhee probably still blames himself for everything that's happened this past year." 

The truth of that statement rung truer than anything else he's been told that afternoon and Wooseok found himself wondering if he'd ever be given to chance to apologize or if he'd let the only chance at reconciliation slip through his fingers without so much as clenching his fist to try and prevent it. 

"I only hope that I'll get the chance," He murmured, eyes downturned as he let the events of the day replay in his mind. 

Somi smiled, no malice evident this time, safe in the knowledge that Minsoo would have wanted his two best friends to reconcile and she'd done all she could to help them along the way. 

The rest was up to them now. Hopefully they could make it work. 

•

It was difficult to adjust to life in a completely different country but the old Hwanhee would have had no problem settling in making new friends, he'd always been outgoing and personable which meant people gravitated towards him naturally. To an extent he still held that same charisma but over time, Hwanhee found that he preferred his own company over that of friends and maybe it was to do with being betrayed by those that he'd dared call friends before but he wasn't ready to put himself out there and take that risk again. 

He'd been living in America for a year and as such, another year had passed since Minsoo's death anniversary but the days blended together seemlessly in a mess of university classes and excuses to his parents and Hwanhee found that he didn't really mind when he lost track of the time or the date because losing track meant that time passed him by faster and the pain became more or a dull ache than an ever-present hole in his heart. 

That wasn't to say that Hwanhee had no friends in his new home because as much as he didn't go out of his way to associate with other people, Hwanhee was still someone who drew people to him with his easy going personality and that led to him rarely ever being truly alone.

Among those people, Kim Doyeon, a girl in his Psych class had probably become his closest friend in the new place and Hwanhee eventually became open to spendung time with her.

During his second year abroad, Hwanhee moved in with his college mate and found that they'd grown close enough that he could finally talk about what had happened with Minsoo and Wooseok and the younger girl told him about her girlfriend that she'd left at home when she'd gone to study abroad. It was nice to have someone to talk to and the days leading up to the third anniversary of Minsoo's death snuck up on him with very little warning.

In fact, it wasn't until he'd chanced a look at his calender and noticed that the end of November was already approaching that the usual mellow, subdued silence fell over Hwanhee once more.  
With the help of his parents, Hwanhee made the decision that he would go back to Korea and honour Minsoo's memory by his side this year. It was a decision that took months but Hwanhee knew that he was done running away from all the bad things in his life, it was time to start living again and although he's enjoyed his stay in America, he knew he would only truly be happy once he'd spoken to Wooseok and was back where he belonged.

To say his parents were hesitant would have been a gross understatement but they ultimately trusted Hwanhee's judgement, something that he was endlessly grateful for. The boy who'd grown from an teenager to an adult during his absence was no less hesitant about having to face his former best friend again after such a rocky parting but Hwanhee was willing to let bygones by bygones and hope that the older boy ha enough piece of mind to do the same. 

More than anything, facing Wooseok again would be the biggest trial that Hwanhee would have to overcome but he came to the realisation that maybe, just maybe he was ready to finally do it now. 

And it was with the mindset that he finally said goodbye to America and made his way home. 

•

Things had changed exponentially for Wooseok in the two years since he'd been set straight by a tiny girl in a yellow jumper but some things stayed the same and he was grateful for it. 

"If you don't get your butt out of this door in the next two seconds then I swear that I'm leaving you behind Kim Wooseok!" An irritated voice exclaimed from the general vicinity of the door. Wooseok smirked but didn't budge, knowing that Somi would never make good on her word. It had become sort of an unspoken tradition to visit Minsoo's grave together ever since the night when he'd dragged her there after his confrontation with Hwanhee.

It was one of the few times they saw each other now that Somi had graduated and gone to college a few towns over and although they still spoke regularly, it was nice that they had this time to meet up. 

"There isn't gonna be traffic, there's absolutely no need for us to be leaving this early." He replied flippantly, grinning when he heard the younger girl huff before stomping towards him. She was being unusually impatient that day and although Wooseok found it highly amusing, he was also curious as to what had her so high strung in the first place.

"It's not about the traffic you overgrown housecat! I told you last week that I was meeting someone there and they're gonna think that I can't make good on my word if I end up being late." She explained, glaring at him in a playful manner from where she stood in the middle of the floor with her hands on her hips. Now that she mentioned it, Wooseok did remember her mentioning something of the sort and his curiosity was once again peeked about the mystery person. 

"You're still not going to tell me who it is? I'm hurt Somi, this has always been our thing and now you're inviting some random person along... And on top of that, you're refusing to give me an explanation?" Wooseok made sure to sound upset about the situation when really, he just wanted to be properly prepared for whoever it was that they were gonna meet so that he didn't make an idiot of himself when the time finally came.

Somi didn't take the bait, raising her eyebrows at him to discredit his apparent 'sadness'. 

"You'll hardly have cause to complain...the person we're meeting has just as much right to be there as either of the two of us." She replied, already walking back towards the door to finish putting her shoes on. Somi was clearly done talking and Wooseok knew that she was expecting him to follow like an obedient puppy (which he did.)

"If you say so..." He trailed off, letting the abundant disbelief bleed into his tone as he pulled on his winter coat and followed it up with his scarf and hat. There was nobody that he could think of that, in Wooseok's mind, was as close to Minsoo as they had been and therefore had cause to be visiting him at that time. of course, the rest of the hockey team would visit later in the evening and Minsoo's family would have already been there in the morning. 

There was only one other person but there was no way he's be there. The younger boy had wiped the slate clean two years ago and probably wasn't coming back. 

Somi only grinned at his scepticism, already out the door and on the way to Wooseok's bike with a worn helmet tucked under one arm with the number 14 printed on the top in faded lettering. "It'll be worth it, you'll see.. but you're gonna have to trust me on this and not make us late."

So he took her word for it, swinging his leg over the side of the bike and waiting for the younger girl to get situated comfortably behind him before starting the engine and beginning the long journey to the field where his best friend was buried.

•

Wooseok thought that maybe, for all the times he'd imagined this very moment, it would be a little more surreal, a little more dramatic but it just was. They weren't close enough to really tell yet but Wooseok was sure that he could recognise that hair (even if it was now black instead of the dark brown he'd last seen it) from a mile away. It was anticlimactic and yet he didn't consider that a bad thing because Wooseok was fairly sure that he'd dealt with enough dramatic to last him a lifetime. 

Hwanhee appeared to be largely unaware that he was no longer alone and the younger boy was sitting on his knees in the grass, talking animatedly to the headstone before him as though they were holding a perfectly conductive conversation. The sight was endearing but tinged with an edge of sadness that made Wooseok wonder if he looked much the same when he visited Minsoo to talk about his day and when things became too much in everyday life. It would have been easy and fascinating to continue to watch from a distance for as long as time would allow but Somi urged him forward with evident impatience.

From there, it was a matter of taking the few short steps toward the person whom he owed a major apology and clearing his throat to gain the oblivious boys attention.

Hwanhee stopped talking, immediately freezing up but keeping his back turned in lieu of finding out who'd managed to appear behind him without making their presence known. "Who's there?" He called out softly, the shake in his voice barely audible but Wooseok still heard it and he briefly wondered where all the younger boys previous courage in the face of unexpected situations had gone. 

"Hwanhee..." Wooseok muttered in response, not quite answering the question but knowing the younger boy would be able to connect the dots just fine on his own. Of course he was right and Hwanhee's head snapped round faster that Wooseok would have thought possible upon hearing the voice. 

"Wooseok Hyung... I'm-- I just.." Hwanhee stuttered, stopping for a moment to collect himself before continuing. "I was just leaving." The immediate response may not have been obvious but Wooseok noticed the way the younger boy drew into himself in such an instinctive action that he was reminded of their hostile meetings in the year following Minsoo's death. It was enough to make Wooseok wonder just how much he's wounded Hwanhee emotionally during that comparatively short time.

Before the younger boy could make a quick escape, Wooseok grabbed his wrist and took note of the way Hwanhee's fingers curled into tight fists upon the contact. "Don't. You don't have to leave... Minsoo would have wanted all three of us to be here together." He finally said by way of explanation for his actions.

At the mention of a third person, Hwanhee seemed to finally realise that Somi was there with them although the girl had been purposely hanging back to see how their reuinion would play out with as little interference as possible. His face lit up upon spotting her and Wooseok was suddenly reminded of the time when he'd foolishly assumed that the younger boy had a crush on Somi. 

"You're finally back," The girl said, the sound coming out muffled through the tight embrace that Hwanhee had caught her in but her own smile mirrored the one on his own face. "You took too long idiot, we missed you." She continued in a light reprimand which left Hwanhee grinning sheepishly once he'd finally released her from the hug. 

"Sorry...but I'm back to stay now," The younger boy promised, offering his pinky in a juvenile show of altruism.

Wooseok stepped up to the two, unwilling to be left out of the exchange. 

"I'm sorry to you know? It's not enough, I can never really apologise enough for the hell I put you through two years ago but still, a tiny part of me hopes that you could forgive me someday." It wasn't the grand apology he'd had planned and the words didn't really come out right but Wooseok felt as though he could have done no better when Hwanhee turned that megawatt smile on him. 

"I forgave you a long time ago Hyung... We all went though something hard and we all had different ways of dealing with it but that's all in the past now. As you said earlier, Minsoo would have wanted us to be together, celebrating his life instead of mourning his death." Hwanhee didn't so much as frown and Wooseok felt as though he didn't deserve the olive branch that was being offered to him but he was too selfish to turn down something that he desired so.

"So are you two gonna kiss and make up or what? I didn't painstakingly arrange this meeting behind both of your backs just so you could dance around the subject like pretty schoolers. You know, Minsoo always said it would take a million years for either of you to confess." Somi interrupted the moment, slinging her arms over both of their shoulders and pushing their faces closer together in a faux threat. 

Wooseok and Hwanhee both promptly turned bright red, stumbling away from one another and spluttering incoherently, completely taken aback by the unexpected turn the conversation had taken. 

"I um... We-- I mean, I don't... It's not like that." Wooseok tried to explain, although the jumbled words did little to argue his case. Hwanhee was in a similar situation although he's stopped trying to explain himself and was now staring resolutely at his shoes. 

"Sure it's not, save it for someone who didn't watch you fail at flirting for two years." Somi shot back, barely managing to hold back a laugh as she watched the two of them struggle.

In that moment, the broken pieces seemed to fit back together and although the picture would never be perfect with a piece missing, the three of them would never paint a new one because they wanted to remember...

...to remember the good times and the bad because they wouldn't be where they were now without either of those and in that moment, they decided that right here was the very best place to be. 

••  
END  
••

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I didn't intend for Somi to become such an important character originally but I'm glad that she developed the way she did! This was actually supposed to be a very short drabble based off the new MV because I had too many feels, but it got out of hand and turned into this monster. 
> 
> There's probably a million and one spelling and grammar mistakes in here but it's 04:32am and I just wanna post it before I fall asleep~
> 
> As usual, Comments and Kudos would be greatly appreciated!!~ Lete know what you thought of the fic! 
> 
> Find me on Twitter @HansoldMS_Twt


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